Family of Jeffrey Dahmer victim slams Netflix for ‘retraumatising’ them: ‘It’s cruel’
Mugshot of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. (Bureau of Prisons/ Getty)
The family of one of the victims of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer has slammed Netflix for “retraumatising” them over true crime drama Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
The show, co-created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, tells the story of the Milwaukee serial killer’s crimes that spanned between 1978 and 1991.
But Eric Perry, cousin to Dahmer victim Errol Lindsay, has taken to Twitter to express his discomfort with the show.
Alongside a comparison of real courtroom footage of Rita Isbell, the sister of one of Dahmer’s victims, and the Netflix version of the same hearing, Perry wrote: “I’m not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge… but if you’re actually curious about the victims, my family (the Isbells) are p**sed about this show.
“It’s retraumatising over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?”
He continues: “Like recreating my cousin having an emotional breakdown in court in the face of the man who tortured and murdered her brother is WILD. WIIIIIILD.”
Evan Peters plays the serial killer in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. (Netflix)
Errol Lindsay – Ria Isbell’s brother and Eric Perry’s cousin – was horrifically murdered by Dahmer in April 1991. Dahmer was arrested in July of the same year.
Perry also posted that the families of the victims are not notified a series is in production or being released: “OK, I did not expect that tweet to get this much attention.
“To answer the main question, no, they don’t notify families when they do this. It’s all public record, so they don’t have to notify (or pay!) anyone. My family found out when everyone else did.”
He continues: “So when they say they’re doing this ‘with respect to the victims’ or ‘honoring the dignity of the families’, no one contacts them. My cousins wake up every few months… with a bunch of calls and messages and they know there’s another Dahmer show. It’s cruel.”
So when they say they’re doing this “with respect to the victims” or “honoring the dignity of the families”, no one contacts them. My cousins wake up every few months at this point with a bunch of calls and messages and they know there’s another Dahmer show. It’s cruel.
— corbin bleu’s tether (@ericthulhu) September 23, 2022
The show’s cast and crew have defended its creation, arguing they never intended to humanise Dahmer, but instead show the perspectives of the victims and explain that a large number of Dahmer’s killings were informed by race and sexuality.
Evan Peters, who plays the titular killer, said in a promotional video for Netflix: “We had one rule going into this… that it would never be told from Dahmer’s point of view.
“It’s called The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, but it’s not just him and his backstory: it’s the repercussions, it’s how society and our system failed to stop him multiple times because of racism, homophobia. It’s just a tragic story.”
Netflix has also been slammed for categorising the dramatisation under the LGBTQ section of its library.
